Nichorello Countdown
by sherlollyshipperalltheway
Summary: A snippet of Nicky and Lorna's lives for each episode of Orange.
1. Fuck 'Uno'

The two weeks in SHU Nicky gets for yelling at the Mendez are awful and she misses Morello's body. (Just her body, Nicky tells herself.)

When she's finally back up the hill, she has to sleep on the god-awful bunk-bed above Darth Vader. The room smells like death, and Nicky would much rather be down the hall in the suburbs where she can catch a glimpse of Lorna's smooth stomach as she changes clothes at night. Unfortunately, bunk reassignment usually takes about two weeks, so it looks like she's stuck here for awhile.

Of course, Lorna knows where to find her, so it's not like the sex stops. Each morning, she gets up at six, grabs her towel, and meets Morello outside her room. Lorna's always still half-asleep at this point, and one day Nicky's pretty sure she dozed off a little leaning against the wall waiting for Nicky.

They make their way to the showers, usually in silence. The silence isn't uncomfortable. It's mostly due to the blurriness that comes with just waking up, but also Nicky notices that this isn't what it was like with the girls she used to hook up with. With those girls, Nicky would run her mouth no matter what the hour, spouting vulgar jokes and making suggestive comments. But with Lorna, she doesn't feel the need. Sure, they tease each other sometimes, and she comments on Morello's good looks in a rather open way, but she mostly says those things to make Morello giggle.

With Lorna it's all hazy smiles and excitement. If asked, Nicky swears the best part of her day is when her head is between Morello's thighs, but in truth, the lazy walk to the showers is her favorite five minutes each morning.

Still, Nicky is ready to move back into the suburbs (despite the fact that her current living space makes for a longer morning walk to the showers with Lorna), and she is getting quite tired of listening to Miss Rosa cough through the night.

Fortunately for Nicky, she gets a little excitement when Chapman arrives, all bright-eyed and ready to share all the facts she read about prison.

After dinner that night, Nicky wanders into the tv room and sees Lorna there playing Uno with Yoga Jones. She pulls up a chair and straddles it, catching Morello's attention with a smirk.

"What, Nichols?" Morello asks.

Nicky's stomach swoops against her will. "Nothin', just Yoga here is beating you _real_ bad." She gestures to Lorna's huge hand and Jones' three remaining cards.

Lorna shifts her cards to one hand and flips Nicky off with the other. Another swoop.

Yoga interrupts Nicky's intestinal gymnastics by shouting "Uno!" as she puts down two of her last cards.

"Oh fuck," mutters Lorna. She puts down a blue four, but unfortunately for her, Yoga's last card is a blue seven.

"Good game, Morello," says Yoga, and Lorna grunts in response. "I'll see you two later," Yoga says as she gets up from the table and leaves them alone.

Lorna continues to pout and Nicky continues to smile.

"You know it's hot when you pout like that, right Morello?" asks Nicky playfully, but with a hint of concern in her voice.

"Oh shut up," replies Morello, swatting Nicky on the arm. "I saw you were gettin' close with that new girl, Chapman."

Nicky scoots closer and puts her hand seductively on Lorna's knee. "Oh yeah? You jealous?"

Morello shakes her head and blushes faintly. "Nah, just wonderin'. She seems nice."

"Yeah, she's alright. Not as hot as you though, Morello," Nicky confirms. She likes the thought that Lorna would be a little jealous of her and another girl, but she wants to make it perfectly clear that she isn't interested in other girls. Just Lorna. "Ey, what do you say we hit the showers? Suddenly I'm feeling a little dirty," says Nicky with a wink.

Lorna laughs at Nicky's smooth lead in, but nods her head and follows Nicky to the bathroom. "Fuck Uno."


	2. The Tool Belt Incident

Lorna thinks Nicky wearing a tool belt is sexy. Sometimes she finds herself searching out Nicky during the dirty blonde's work hours. Today, she ends up leaning conspicuously against the wall right inside the back door of the kitchen watching as Nicky and the rest of the electrical staff try to repair Betty the Refrigerator.

Lorna has gotten good at keeping quiet while she watches Nicky (she refuses to call it stalking because it isn't, right?), but today she lets out a rather loud gasp when she thinks Red is going to punch Chapman. Nicky turns around to see where the sound came from and Lorna ducks out into the hallway so that all Nicky sees is a flash of brown hair and khaki. Lorna scolds herself for being so careless.

A small voice in her head tries to tell her that Nicky doesn't need to be stalked (okay that seriously is what's happening here) because she actually wants to be around Morello, unlike Christopher. She tries to remind herself that sometimes Nicky actively seeks her out to hook up or just hang up, but the self-loathing part of her brain wins out. She's being creepy and it needs to stop.

* * *

Nicky knows that Lorna shows up to watch her work on occasion. She's seen the small brunette lurking in a corner several times and she thinks it's cute. It helps feed her ego. But today, she made the mistake of letting Lorna know she saw her leave.

She bites the inside of her cheek. Shit. Is she going to stop now? Nicky kind of loves (loves?) that Lorna takes an interest in her, but she knows that Lorna will think she has been doing something wrong. The thought makes Nicky want to wrap Morello in a huge hug, and that simply isn't Nicky's style. She'll have to figure something else out.

* * *

That night at movie night, Lorna makes sure to sit in a row with no extra empty seats to avoid an awkward conversation with Nicky. She ends up next to Vause who keeps giving her weird looks as if she expects Lorna to tell her something. Nicky finally comes in to the room, late as usual, and looks around for Lorna who always saves her a seat. Lorna sees Nicky scanning the rows of chairs and she quickly puts in her headphones and pretends to be very interested with her volume buttons.

She half expects Nicky to pull out her earbuds and confront her right now, but Nichols just shakes her head and sits down in the seat right in front of Lorna.

The movie is so funny that night that Lorna almost forgets about the mess she has made.

* * *

When the movie ends, Nicky turns around and catches Lorna's attention. The brunette blushes furiously and tries to dash away, but Nicky grabs her wrist lightly and the touch stops her.

"Come talk to me. Please, Morello?"

Lorna smiles (but it looks more like a grimace). "Well, since you said please."

Nicky lets go of her hand almost reluctantly and leads Lorna to the hallway next to the kitchen. "Ey, what happened to my seat tonight, kid?"

"Uh well, I thought I should welcome Vause, ya know, cause she's new."

"Careful with that," Nicky says with a laugh, "I hear Red's starving her out now."

Lorna makes a face. "Oh. I'm glad that never happened to me."

"You're far to sweet, Morello, Red took one look at you and wanted to scoop you up."

"I'm not, Nicky."

"Huh? You're not what?"

Lorna sighed. "I'm not sweet, Nichols. I'm—" she lowered her voice to a whisper, "I'm scary."

Nicky threw her head back in a laugh. "You are far from scary, kid. Listen, I know you've been hanging around when I work electrical and—"

"You do? And you don't hate me?"

"Of course not, Morello. How could I hate you?"

Lorna opened her mouth to answer, but Nicky cut her off. "I think it's hot that you like to watch me work, okay? So it's not weird. What's weird is you thinking I don't like it when you stare at my ass. 'Cause I totally like that."

That got a smile out of Lorna. "Good, 'cause I think that tool belt is hot."

Nicky looks wistfully off into the distance. "God bless that tool belt."


	3. Not A Lesbian

A/N: I just wanted to give a warning for Lorna's ignorance about sexuality as a spectrum in this chapter. I do not share her views, but I was trying to get in her head and see what she would say.

That night before lights out, Nicky and Lorna are seated on Lorna's bed. Lorna is writing a letter to her sister and Nicky is retelling Chapman's encounter with Crazy Eyes earlier that day. Lorna doesn't say much, because she is afraid she'll say _too_ much.

The truth is, when Lorna first met Nicky, she came on very strong, kind of like Crazy Eyes, and it really freaked Lorna out. She remembers her first week at Litchfield and how many dirty jokes Nicky had made in her presence. Nichols hadn't been as forceful as Suzanne, but it had been enough to make Lorna lie about Christopher again. Somewhere deep inside Lorna, she knows that Christopher was never hers, and in the weeks before she was placed in Litchfield, she had been getting closer to accepting that reality all of the time.

But when Lorna had started to enjoy Nicky's flirting, she'd told Nicky she was engaged. This didn't exactly stop Nicky from calling her hot and staring at her tits, but Lorna's new reality gave the brunette an easy out. After all, she is not a lesbian.

Of course, in the following weeks, the loneliness of Litchfield (and the sex appeal of Nicky Nichols) took hold of Lorna and she ended up alone with the blonde in the chapel several times.

She is able to rationalize the sex they have been having the past few months, but she's having a harder time rationalizing the intense feelings she is developing for her fuck buddy. Nichols doesn't do feelings and shit. Also, Lorna is not a lesbian.

Coming back to reality, she realizes that she hasn't been listening to Nicky for the past few minutes, and now the blonde is looking at her awaiting an answer to an unheard question.

Lorna manages to wave off Nicky's question by feigning a headache. She tells Nicky that she wants to go to sleep early. Nicky seems a little miffed and a tad worried, but she leaves anyway.

Sleep doesn't come and Lorna can't stop thinking about this morning at breakfast when Nicky gave her her waffle because she could see that Lorna was still hungry. Why does she have to do that stuff? It makes it so hard for Lorna to have sex without feelings when the woman she is fucking is possibly the most adorable, sweet person underneath her hard outer shell.

Something is going to have to change. Lorna is engaged. And, she is Not. A. Lesbian.


	4. Wrong Time

Lorna picks the worst moment to come into the library. Or else, Nicky picks the wrong time to console a tall brunette. Either way, Lorna is browsing the library for a new romance novel and she stumbles upon her gi—Nicky snuggled up against Vause. They are both dozing off with their heads resting on each other.

The second she sees them, Lorna backs away. "No, no, no, no," she whispers. Taystee gives her a confused look and Lorna dashes out of the library and straight to her bunk.

* * *

Nicky wakes up because she bumps her head on the library shelf. She doesn't remember falling asleep, but she supposes she must have. She pokes Alex in the rib. "Hey Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up."

Alex rubs her eyes and groans. "Fuck you, Nichols."

"Ugh, my ass," whines Nicky as she gets off the floor. "That carpet was not meant for sitting on for long periods of time."

"Shit, I'm late for work," says Alex with a chuckle. "Guess I better get down there or else Pennsatucky is going to give me a lecture on how lateness is one of the reasons I'm headed for hell."

"Send the meth-heads my love," says Nicky with an overly emphatic wave.

When Alex leaves the library, Nicky considers actually checking out a book, but she decides she would rather go find Lorna.

Nicky finds Morello sitting in the center of her bunk with her legs crossed. Her makeup and hair are perfect. She has a wedding magazine open on her lap and her earbuds in.

"Ey Morello," Nicky says loudly, leaning into Lorna's cube.

Lorna doesn't respond, so Nicky assumes she can't hear through her headphones. She plops down on the bed, causing it to shake, but still Lorna acts like she hasn't noticed Nicky.

"Yo, what the hell?" asks Nicky as she pulls out Lorna's right earbud. Morello just flips a page in her magazine.

Nicky sets her teeth and leans her back against the wall. She is not a fan of being ignored, but she manages to keep herself under control and sit quietly, waiting for Morello to finish an article or whatever.

A few minutes later, Lorna looks up from her magazine. "Excuse me, did you need something?"

"Uh, just wanted to chill or whatever. No need to go all crazy on me," says Nicky defensively.

Lorna turns back to her magazine. "Well, I don't want to 'chill or whatver' okay?" So if you'll excuse me, I got a lot of wedding plans to straighten out."

"Oh not again. That's not something I want to be even remotely involved in, Morello. I'll catch you later."

* * *

When Nicky leaves, Lorna briefly wonders if Nicky was jealous of her (fake) fiancé, but she quickly decides that the blonde was just being a dick.

Lorna, however, is definitely jealous of Vause. Why can't she and Nicky snuggle together like they were in the library? The fact that Lorna wants that scares her.

* * *

Nicky goes back to her own bunk and sulks a little. She is fucking done with fucking Christopher. She is so much better for Lorna than that piece of shit. And why is Lorna being like this right now? What did she do?

Fuck.

Nicky would be lying if she said she didn't consider fucking Vause while she was moping in her bunk. But only for a second, because she realized pretty quickly that the only person she was interested in fucking was Morello. It's not like this news comes as a surprise to Nicky, but she's still not sure how to deal with it. Like she said, fuck.

* * *

Lorna is a big mess of feelings and they are swirling around and she can't tell them apart. That night, about twenty minutes before lights out, she can't handle the noises in her mind any longer. She needs a distraction and her favorite distraction (that's all she is, okay? she's not in love with her) is Nicky.

She sees more of the inside of a chapel that week than she has since Sunday School in middle school.

Nicky has no complaints.


	5. Sunday Shit

Lorna had been acting weird the week before, but this week, things seem to have gone back to normal for Nicky: fucking Lorna in the morning and pretending she isn't in love with her best friend for the rest of the day.

At least, that's how it is until Sunday.

On Sunday, everything goes to shit. Not only is Nicky just informed that the sex with the girl she is really into (and not just in that way) is ending, but now she is going to have to take a cold shower. After Pennsatucky, Sister, and the Chaplin come into the chapel, Nicky and Lorna have to crawl off the stage of the church. They quickly realize that there is no back way out of the chapel and that they are now stuck hiding in the church wings until services have ended.

"Fuck. I knew we shouldn't have come here on a Sunday morning," whispers Lorna.

Nicky is in no mood for this. She puts on a face and tries to maintain her usual attitude, but she is honestly really hurt that Lorna is stopping the sex. "Oh fuck off. You were the one at my bunk at six-thirty with your nipples hard. This isn't my fault."

Lorna pulls her shirt over her head and yanks her pants on as quietly as she can and Nicky crosses her arms. "How long are these services anyway?" Lorna asks.

"I think the last one's over at noon."

"And we have to stay here until then? In this tiny room and listen to all the services?"

"Yeah, well just be glad you're not the one with blue balls," snaps Nicky.

They sit in angry silence for about twenty minutes, half listening to the Catholic service and half wondering if they can burrow their way out of the chapel through the walls.

Out of nowhere, Lorna starts to speak. "Listen, I'm sorry, Nichols. I really am. It's just that…Christopher…and the wedding…and…" She leans closer to Nicky. "This has been so much fun, but I can't cheat on him anymore…" Nicky leans in. "but I just…" Nicky doesn't want to hear any more, so she kisses Lorna.

Lorna kisses her back, but very tentatively and only for a few seconds.

When she pulls back, Lorna just says, "I can't. I'm sorry, Nicky. I can't."

Nicky doesn't say anything. She can feel her walls going back up, stronger this time. This is what happens when you let someone in. She doesn't look Morello in the eyes for the rest of the time they are stuck in the chapel and she avoids the brunette as much as she can the next couple of days. Fuck her.


	6. She Needs You

A/N: I got a bit busy this weekend so I am a day behind, but I am going to catch up tomorrow! Thanks for all the love so far!

* * *

"…And Chapman."

"But you didn't even run!"

Lorna pushes Red's hands away from her shoulders and walks as fast as she can without getting a shot out of the cafeteria.

Alex looks at Nicky questioningly, nodding towards the door. Nicky stares straight ahead. She isn't falling into this again. This thing where she is so invested in Lorna when all Lorna cares about is her stupid wedding.

Red slaps her upside the head again. "Fucking idiot. Go. She needs you." When Nicky glares up at Red, the older woman continues. "You need her too."

"Fuuuuck," says Nicky, drawing out the word. "How are you always right, huh? Fuck"

Red just gives her a look.

"Yeah, Ma. I'm going."

Nicky finds Lorna curled up in her bunk. She takes a deep breath and sits down next to Morello. It feels weird to be this close to her. Nicky has been avoiding her all week except for the big rally in the common room, and they haven't been alone together since the chapel that Sunday morning.

Lorna heaves a sob and Nicky gingerly places a hand on her back. "Hey, it's okay. Fuck Chapman."

The brunette turns her head and her eyes are red and her mascara is running. "Oh, it's you. I thought you were done with me. You seemed pretty adamant about that yesterday at breakfast."

"Yeah well, I've been feeling a little—" Nicky catches herself. This isn't about her. This is about Lorna. "Nah, I could never be done with you. I was just being a dick. You're…important to me, okay?"

Lorna rearranges herself so her head is in Nicky's lap. "Thank you, Nicky," she whispers.

Nicky almost makes a snarky comment to avoid a silence, but thinks better of it. That's not what Morello needs right now. She needs Nicky to be there for her. To be her friend. Nicky can do that. (She's not sure she can stop thinking about the kiss they shared in the chapel—the first kiss they ever had—but that's something she hopes she can keep inside. At least for now.) Maybe someday Morello will see Nicky as more than a friend. And not just for sex as a distraction. Nicky wants to be with Lorna. (It took Nicky a while to accept this fact and use the word "love" in her mind, but she's finally there.)

As she combs through Lorna's hair with her fingers, she hopes that one day Morello will realize that Nicky is so much better for her than her asshole fiancé of hers that never visits. That Nicky loves her with all of her damaged and mangled heart.

But for now, she can wait. Lorna needs Nicky and Nicky needs Lorna.


	7. Flirting and Surfing

Being 'just friends' with Lorna is harder than Nicky anticipated. Nicky would walk into a room and see that Lorna was making a collage or looking through her wedding book, and it hurts too much, so Nicky would turn around and find somewhere else to hang. That's how she ends up on the stairs with Vause and a pack of saltines.

Nicky and Alex have become pretty close friends over the past few weeks. They're in similar situations. Nicky is in love with her best friend whom she can't be with, and Alex obviously has feelings for Piper, but Piper has been being an asshole and hurting Alex in the process.

So yeah, Nicky flirts with Alex and teases her, but there are no underlying emotions involved. She's not even doing it to try and make Morello jealous. It's just her defense mechanism for dealing with her feelings. She tries to bury them and goofs off until she forgets for a little while.

Today, Nicky makes the mistake of popping her head inside the tv room where Lorna is making a travel collage. Morello sees her before she can get away, so Nicky is stuck listening to a fifteen-minute explanation of all the places Lorna wants to visit. Norma has already heard the spiel, so she leaves, giving Nicky an apologetic look on her way out.

True to her word about being Lorna's friend, Nicky diligently listens to the brunette describe each beach and forest she wants to travel to.

"And the last place I want to travel to is the Pacific Ocean. I've never been that far West. Wouldn't it be so fun to surf over there?" asks Lorna excitedly.

"Have you ever even been surfing?" Nicky quips with a chuckle.

Lorna sticks out her tongue. "No. Have you?"

"Sure have. How about this: I'll come with you to California and then we'll share a board so I can hold you up."

"Yes! I've always wanted to try surfing, but I know I would fall without help. Thanks Nick," says Lorna with an appreciative smile. She can tell Nicky is trying to engage her in conversation about the travels even thought she doesn't really want to and it's quite touching.

Meanwhile, Nicky is beaming because Lorna just insinuated that she and Nicky will stay in touch (and maybe even spend time together) after they both get out of prison. That must mean that Nicky is still important to Lorna.

"Don't sweat it. It's a plan," replies Nicky with a grin.


	8. Just Hold Me

Lorna walks down the suburbs toward her cube when she hears someone making a noise that sounds like sneezing and coughing at the same time. At any other time, she would have headed right for her bunk because she doesn't want to get sick, but right now, she needs a distraction. She can't stop thinking about the way Pornstache looked her yesterday. She had feared for her life. Now whenever she sees him, her heart starts to race and her legs want to bolt. Anything to distract her. Even a cold.

She walks over to the cube where someone is having a coughing fit and quickly remembers that it is Nicky's. Lorna briefly notices that Norma's things are in Tricia's bed, but she is distracted by the pile of blankets and curls that is Nicky, having another sneeze-attack.

Lorna rushes over to the bed and pulls up a chair. "Nick, are you okay?"

"Huh?" Nicky tries to unwind herself from the sheets to see who is speaking. "Oh, Morello. Hey."

"What, you're not happy to see me?" teases Lorna, trying to coax Nicky back into their normal rhythm.

To her surprise, Nicky starts to cry.

"Baby, what's wrong?" asks Lorna, reaching her hand up to feel Nicky's forehead.

Nicky only cries harder.

Lorna is on the edge of tears herself as she says, "What can I do? Please. Let me help you Nicky. What do you need?"

Nicky takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. When she opens them, she looks up at Lorna properly for the first time that day. "You're not wearin' your makeup. Not that you need it. You're gorgeous and all, but is somethin' wrong?"

The brunette tries to shake Nicky off, tell her she's fine and was just feeling lazy that morning, but the blonde won't stand for it. She ends up making Lorna tell her the whole story about Pornstache, and how she thought he might try something in the van and how scared she was. She tells Nicky how he wanted to know about Red's contraband and how she didn't tell him.

When she's done talking, Nicky's eyes are full of tears again. "Lorna. You're too good for this place," she says, and then the tears roll down her cheeks.

"Please, Nicky. Tell me what I can do," says Lorna, feeling desperate. She has never seen Nicky cry before now and she doesn't know what to do.

Nicky sounds pained and she continues to cry silently. "Just hold me."

So Lorna does. She gets into Nicky's bed and spoons her, running her fingers across Nicky's arm the way her mother used to when she got the flu and had to stay home from school.

Later that night when Lorna returns to her bunk for count, she has her own sneezing fit, but she doesn't mind. Making sure Nicky is alright is worth getting a cold.


	9. Nicky's Terrible Timing

Lorna gives Red a huge smile and takes her tray over to the table where Nicky and Alex are eating.

"It doesn't feel right to be eating while she's in there."

Nicky smirks. "Straight girls. They'll fuck you up every time." She doesn't hear Lorna approaching until the brunette drops her tray on the floor and bolts from the cafeteria.

"Shit, Nichols. You have possibly the worst timing in the world," says Alex, half jokingly and half sympathetically.

"Fuck off, Vause." Nicky puts her head in her hands and groans. "Why does this keep happening? She ends it with us and then she keeps getting offended when I call her straight or whatever? What the fuck is that?"

Alex shakes her head. "Hey Rich Girl, you ever thought that maybe you're not the only one with issues? Maybe she's dealing with some shit. And hey, isn't it a good sign that she hates it when you call her straight?"

"Oh, Christ. Don't go there. Damn, I gotta go after her, don't I?"

"Well, if you ever want to lick her pussy again, I'd say yeah."

Nicky can see on Alex's face that the taller girl knows it's not just Lorna's cunt she wants, but thankfully she has the decency not to mention Nicky's obvious love for Morello. (Fuck, when did it become this obvious?) She grabs another bite of mashed potatoes before she buses her tray and shuffles her way down to the suburbs.

Lorna is laying on her back on her bunk and her eyes are red from crying. She doesn't look at Nicky when she enters the cube. Nicky keeps her distance, leaning against the wall and waiting for Lorna to say something.

When Morello finally speaks, her voice is raw. "Why do you gotta be so mean, Nichols?"

Nicky feels like she's been punched in the chest. "You know I got shitty ways of coping. I'm sorry."

"Coping?" Lorna sits up. "Coping with what? Not having sex with me? Because I know you could have any girl you want, Nicky. I know I wasn't the only girl you fucked here."

Nicky looks down at the ground. "I, uh, I haven't fucked anybody else since you got here," she says quietly.

Lorna purses her lips. She's been in here for six months. "I didn't…"

"Don't. I know you'll never feel the way I feel about you," Nicky says, barely raising her voice above a whisper.

Lorna stand, walks over to Nicky, and tips her chin up so she has no choice but to look the smaller girl in the eyes. "You don't know that."

Nicky shakes her head and Lorna backs up. "No, I do. I do know that." She turns around and walks out of the cube, not looking back.

"Wait Nicky!"

Lorna chases Nicky down the hall until she finally corners the blonde in her own cube. "What?" asks Nicky, her words cutting like knives.

"Please don't just walk away from me for—for good, okay?" She looks like she might start crying again.

Nicky can't stop herself from wrapping Lorna in a hug. "Shit, Morello. You don't understand, do you? I could never. Shit, I just need a little space, you know?" she says as she hugs Morello tighter.

Lorna nods into Nicky's shoulder, but after a few more moments says, "Nick, I can't breathe."

The blonde quickly lets go. "Sorry. But see what I mean? You're not getting rid of me, alright?"

Lorna nods and lets Nicky wipe away a tear that rolls down her cheek. If only Nicky knew her secrets. She would run away as fast as she can if she knew. But Morello isn't going to let Nicky find out how messed up she really is. She can't, because Lorna needs her. She needs her to stay.


	10. Not Never, But Not Now

_"Fuck you."_

 _"Ey, Fuck you too. Yeah, go do your make-believe someplace else. I don't have the patience for it anymore."_

The words ring in Nicky's head as she walks back to her cube. She's ruined enough today without fucking up her friendship with Lorna.

It's half an hour before count, and Nicky can't just sit in her bunk feeling guilty. She's still sane enough to know that sulking isn't going to help her feel any better about the shit that's happened today. She has talked to Red, and now she needs to talk to Lorna. To apologize to Lorna.

Nicky realized earlier today when she was talking to Morello, that there is truly something off about the brunette's relationship with Christopher. That's why she suggested that he isn't real: to spite Lorna. She realized too late by the look on Lorna's face that she had hit too close to home. That that is too close to the truth. She'd been angry so she'd just let it go, but thinking about it now, Nicky feels terrible.

Alex was right. Maybe Morello has some shit that she's dealing with too, and maybe Nicky doesn't even know the half of it.

But Nicky's in a shitty mood, and she wants to take out her aggression on Lorna. She wants to yell about how Lorna broke her heart by choosing a pretend fiancé over Nicky, a real person bursting with love for the petite brunette.

But she doesn't. She pauses and leans up against the wall outside the suburbs and closes her eyes for a moment.

Suddenly she is being wrapped into a hug and someone is threading their arms tightly around her waist. Nicky opens her eyes to find Morello staring up at her, eyes glassy.

"Nick, are you okay?"

Nicky reciprocates the hug and rests her head on top of Lorna's. "I'm so sorry. For everything I said. I was—I was the one who told Pornstache about the produce guy. It's all my fault. That's why I was being bitchy, and now she's dead and it's all my fault, Lorna. And I fucked up things with you again. God, I'm sorry."

"Nichols, stop. We all got issues. We all fuck up, okay? And you didn't ruin things with me, alright." Lorna breaks the hug and takes Nicky' hands in her own. "Look, I know what I said earlier, but this—us…I'm not saying never, okay?" Lorna's brain is a war zone lately. Part of her know that Christopher isn't hers, but a stronger part is arguing that he is. She can't commit to anything right now, and she knows how much she is hurting Nicky. "I got issues, Nicky. I don't know anything that's goin' on."

Nicky nods. She understands that this is all Lorna can give her right now. She takes the brunette's face in her hands, and gives her a sweet, innocent kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Morello," she says, and walks down the dorm to her bunk.

"Goodnight, Nichols," whispers Lorna.


	11. The Cutest Girl In Here

"Then there's the girl who's been planning her wedding just like everything is normal. Oh, but she is also sleeping with the hot lesbian junkie. How's that for a prison cliché?"

When the interview ends, Morello takes out her earbud and smacks Nicky on the shoulder. "What was that smirk for, Nichols?"

Nicky licks her lips and winks. "You know."

Lorna rolls her eyes and says, "Come on, Nicky."

"Well, for starters, that interview confirms my suspicions that Chapman has been lusting after me this whole time. And second, now the entire prison and anyone else listening to NPR knows that we're sleeping together," answers Nicky with another smirk.

"But we ain't sleeping together anymore…" says Lorna, her face twisted in confusion.

Nicky grins. "I know that. But everybody else doesn't know."

"Ooooh," says Morello, raising her eyebrows.

"Hey now, don't make fun. Just let me enjoy this. I like having everybody think I'm sleeping with the cutest girl in here."

Lorna blushes. She isn't about to tell Nicky, but she's glad the blonde hasn't found someone else she thinks is hotter than Lorna.


	12. You Stole My Lightning

A/N: aaaaaand we're back! I hope you enjoy this next installment!

"So," Lorna begins, "I was part of a pretty top-secret operation yesterday morning."

Nicky laughs and takes another bit of her mystery meat. The two are at dinner together. Alone together, which has been a rare occurrence lately. "It's hardly top-secret, kid. Half the prison heard Caputo yelling about Mendez' bare ass. Pretty amusing, I might add, although I'd have to say I'm glad I missed that particular moment."

She stops talking when she sees Lorna's frustrated pout. "You're stealing my lightning, Nichols."

"What?"

"My lightning! You're stealing it. This was my story and I was trying to tell it!"

"Thunder."

"What?"

Nicky can't hold back her laugh any longer. "I stole your thunder. And for that, I sincerley apologize."

"Mmhmm," replies Lorna, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, I got a story. Did you hear that Miss Claudette tried to strangle Fischer over some nail polish?"

Lorna's eyes widen. "Oh no, I always liked Fischer."

"Ah yes, Fischer. Nothing I say will convince her to let me go down on her." Nicky sighs dramatically.

"Nicky! You're so…explicit!"

"What, I don't get to have any fun anymore? You got _Christofuh_ , and what I am supposed to do, practice _celibacy_?" exclaims Nicky with an emphatic gesture.

Lorna looks down at her plate for something to distract herself, but she realizes that she's eaten her entire meal already. She looks up reluctantly. "Nah, of course not. I just don't want to hear all the…" she swirls her hand in a circle, "details. Okay?"

Nicky picks up her own tray and slams it back on the table, causing some of her uneaten food to fall on Lorna's tray. " _Okay?_ How is that even remotely fair?" she yells. "All you do is talk about Christopher this and Christopher that, and I'm not even allowed to joke about fucking somebody else?"

By this point, people from the next table over are staring, but Nicky doesn't care and she isn't done. "And it's not like I'm even going to fuck Fischer. Jesus, Morello." Nicky lets out a loud huff that is interrupted by a throat clearing coming from behind her.

Nicky's eyes get even wider than usual and Lorna brings her hand up to her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Oh fuck, it's her, isn't it?" asks Nicky in a whisper, and Lorna nods, coughing to cover her giggle.

"Inmate," says Fischer in a comically low voice, "That's a shot. For vulgar language."

Nicky purses her lips and stays very still, staring straight at Lorna, and concentrates extemely hard on not bursting into laughter. "Yes, ma'am. Sorry ma'am."

Once Fischer has walked away, nodoubtedly feeling proud of herself for standing up to an inmate, Nicky and Lorna just about lose it, and Lorna nearly falls over onto the floor.

"Shit, Morello. You coulda given me some kinda warning back there!" accuses Nicky playfully.

Lorna looks back at her innocently. "I kind of think you deserved it, Nichols." She puts her elbows on the table and leans her chin onto her hands. "Well, I guess she'll never fuck you now."

Nicky tries to ignore the satisfaction in Lorna's voice, but against her will, it's the only thing she can think of that evening.


	13. Collage Crisis

The day after the Christmas pageant Boo, Nicky, Lorna, and Alex are eating breakfast together in an uncomfortable silence. Lorna is pouting for one of two reasons, depending on her mood in the moment: the fact that she never got a gift from her Secret Santa (and she doesn't even know who got her), or the fact that fucking Nicky Nichols makes fun of her when she leaves the room. Yeah, Lorna had heard what Nicky said before the Christmas pageant, "You only get one chance to break my heart."

Well, lucky Nicky, free to spout whatever bullshit she feels. She doesn't have some kinda person inside her brain making her do things she doesn't want to. Lorna can't really describe what's going on in her head, but it makes her tell people she is engaged to Christopher, and she's said it so many times, most of the time she believes it herself. The thing in her head also made her end things with Nicky. She hadn't wanted to, but the voice told her she was cheating on her fiancé, and she couldn't ignore it. Now things have been weird between her and Nicky for weeks and she thinks maybe it's slowly driving her even more insane. It feels like there is nothing she can do about it, let alone admit to herself that she misses being close to Nicky more than she's ever missed anything in her life.

Boo's never really been one for silence, so she tries to break the tension by striking up a conversation. "So, what did you get for Secret Santa, Lorna?"

"NOTHING!" Lorna growls, and she realizes that her hands are balled into fists by her sides. She takes a deep breath. "Sorry. I guess my Secret Santa didn't get around to getting me anything."

"Maybe it was Gina," suggests Boo, sorry she brought it up.

Lorna nods, and expects the subject to be dropped.

Instead, Alex clears her throat. "I have some sort of a feeling that it wasn't Gina, Lorna," she says, and then Nicky is making a noise of protest at Alex's repeated jabs to her ribs.

"Ah alright. Quit it. Yeah, it was me, Morello," Nicky admits.

"Oh."

"Listen, I'm sorry I didn't get you anything. I'll make it up to you, okay?" pleads Nicky, but Alex stomps on her foot. "Ow! Jesus, Vause. Fine. I did get you something. But it's stupid."

"No, I want to see it!" exclaims Lorna, suddenly giddy like a little kid.

Nicky makes a face and shakes her head. "Nah, you'll hate it."

"Come on, Nichols, show her your present," chides Alex.

"Well now I'm curious too," laments Boo. "Show her!"

Nicky rolls her eyes and runs her fingers through her hair. "Christ. Alright. But I'm not showing Boo."

"Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it," says Alex with a wink in Boo's direction.

Nicky groans again, but motions for Lorna to follow her to the dorms.

* * *

"What is it, Nichols? What did you get me?"

Lorna has been asking Nicky incessantly all the way down the hallway toward the suburbs.

"Alright listen, it's not so much something I _got_ you…more like something I _made_ ," admits Nicky sheepishly.

If it's possible, Lorna's eyes light up even brighter and she practically starts to skip in anticipation.

When they arrive at Nicky's cube, she tells Lorna to wait outside and close her eyes. Then, she reaches behind her bed and retrieves the collage. She gives it a long look before ripping off the drawing of herself on the groom's body. Underneath is a picture from the magazine of some generic rom-com guy who always gets the girl. Nicky stuffs her self-portrait into her sweatshirt pocket and exits her cube.

"Okay, Miss Morello. Prepare to be amazed." Nicky holds out the collage in front of Lorna. "Open your eyes."

The small brunette opens her eyes and stares at Nicky's art project for a full thirty seconds without speaking. Her eyes well up with tears, and when she does speak, her voice is hoarse. "Thank you, Nicky. I love it. Oh! And see, I was right! It is Bora Bora Bora!"

"Of course it is kid," replies Nicky without missing a beat.

A frown graces Lorna's smooth face and she points to the groom. "What happened to Ryan Reynold's face?"

Nicky looks closer and sees that Lorna is referring to the spot where Nicky's face had been taped on top of the actor's and the tape had ripped off a large portion of Reynold's forehead.

"Um, a collage mishap?" Nicky tries, but Lorna just looks more confused. The frizzy-haired girl bites her lip. Her brain is telling her this is a mistake, but her heart can't help itself. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the drawing of her own head. "I taped this on top of his face," Nicky concedes, shoving the drawing in Lorna's direction. "It was a joke."

Lorna smiles over at Nicky, and the ex-junkie could've sworn the brunette looked like she wanted to say more. Instead, she takes the drawing, steps forward, and presses a warm, chaste kiss onto Nicky's lips before the other girl can react. "Thank you, Nicky."

Nicky smirks and thinks that she should listen to her heart more often.

* * *

When Lorna is back in her own bunk, and Nicky has left the dorms, the smaller girl sits down on her bed with a roll of tape and carefully affixes Nicky's face on top of Ryan's. "It's a joke," she tells herself.

Lorna hides the collage under her bed, but comes back to look at it every now and then when she's feeling down.


	14. Princess

"Fuck, man. It's weird around here without Piper and Alex," says Nicky, poking at her morning oatmeal.

"And Pennsatucky," adds Boo.

Nicky gives her a sideways look. "You got a crush on her, or somethin'?"

Lorna snorts from across the table and gives Nicky a light kick in the ankle.

"Hey, now. She got beat up pretty bad out there," Boo defends.

"Whatever. Anyway, who's gonna be our entitled princess?" jokes Nicky.

Lorna gets up from the table, throws her arms out, spins around, and flips her hair. "I'll be your princess," she says, giggling. When Nicky raises her eyebrows and her jaw drops a little, Lorna's arms flop down to her sides. "I mean, like, the prison's princess, you know?"

Boo smirks. "Yeah, I'm sure that's what she meant, eh Nicky?"

Nicky just smiles and winks at Lorna. She knows what Lorna meant, but she also knows that Lorna's not ready to talk about it.


	15. Of Brushing and Blushing

_"_ _However, we do run into some serious problems with personal grooming here. The hair, it's, uh, messy, unpolished, unkempt. It's wild and slovenly"_

Nicky is in her bunk, and even she has to admit she's sulking. Her pride is hurt from being insulted in front of the whole prison at Job Fair, never mind the fact that the lady went on to insult Black Cindy much worse, she is still pissed.

Her hair is fucking clean. If that lady wanted proof she could make a visit to the showers around seven tomorrow morning and see just how clean Nicky really is.

After only a few minutes of beautiful solitude and slightly therapeutic moping, her silence is interrupted by someone, _of course it's Lorna_ running into her bunk unannounced. "Nicky! I have an idea!" Lorna exclaims.

Nicky looks up from her lap to see that Lorna is wielding a hair brush and she looks like she is poised to attack Nicky's "wild" hair. "Oh, you think I have unclean, disgusting hair too?" says Nicky coldly.

"What? No! I—I just thought. I—you seemed upset and I wanted to help? I could never think you're gross, Nichols."

Nicky is taken aback. "Oh." She clears her throat of any emotions that statement may have caused and puts back on her lady-killer persona. "Well thanks, doll."

Lorna grins and turns to leave, but before she's out of the cube, Nicky speaks again.

"Hey Morello?" Lorna turns back for a moment, "You looked damn hot in that sailor dress today," the blonde says with a wink.

Lorna shakes her head "Oh geez," she whispers to herself and she darts back to her own cube. Nicky's beginning to break her down with every wink, flirty comment and lingering stare. _No. Focus. You're marrying Christopher._

Lorna thinks of Nicky every time she brushes her hair for the next two weeks.


End file.
